Kingdom High Ch 1
by XiggySax
Summary: Roxas and the other organization members are in high school. At the start of his Junior year, there is a new transfer student that gets everyone talking.
1. Chapter 1

Kingdom High

Chapter 1

I woke up to find a VERY energetic blonde bouncing on my bed. "Huhh… unnhhh… Amy?" I was exhausted! What time was it! It was still dark out! "What… What time is it?" I muttered through my yawning. "Look silly!" She giggled at my confused thoughts. Grimacing, I looked at my clock. The glowing green numbers said it was 5:30 in the morning! I bolted up. "AMY! WHAT THE HELL! It's soooo early…" She stared at me like I was an idiot. "Roxy, do you realize what today is? Gah! Your mom figured you'd be like this so she told me to come over and make sure you woke up on time." "Ummm… Why would I need to wake up this early? Ever? Unless…" Suddenly realization dawned on me. "OH SHIT! FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! And I never asked Demyx how to do my hair…" Amy started laughing at me and my stupidity. "Don't worry, I called Demyx. He's gonna get over here and fix up your hair, and teach you to fix it this weekend. He said he's bringing hair gel!" I jumped out of bed, just in boxers. If this was any girl but Amy, I'd probably be a little worried. But, since it was just Amy… It was all good. I decided to grab the jeans I bought when we went on a shopping trip last week. They were a dark blue, and they went wonderfully with the polo she had bought me for my birthday last month. I hadn't worn it yet! Amy thought it brought out my eyes, and Demyx said it made me look "Yummylicious". "Hurry up, babe. You know, my boy can't spend all day fixing your hair. He has school." I turned to see Xigbar, just like I thought. He was leaning in my doorway, almost filling it all up! Poor Demyx was trying to squeeze past him! "Hun, it'll take all day just to get past you!" "Not without a kiss first!" I laughed at the two. They were so sweet to each other, the perfect boyfriends. Demyx gave him a little kiss, then sprang into my room, pushing me into a chair so he could do my hair. I loved him and Amy, they were my two best friends. "Roxy! I'ma gonna steal your bathroom! I have my clothes in this bag, I'll get ready here!" Amy ran out, and into my bathroom. When she left, however, she left me alone with the two biggest flamers in our little town of Kingdom. Not that I minded, and they loved being called that. "Hey, Roxas." Xigbar sounded serious. I looked at him questioningly. If I dare spoke, Demyx would murder me. Xigbar was looking in my mirror, fixing his eyeliner while he spoke. "There should be two new kids at Kingdom High today. Moved in next to me. They're brother and sister. The sister is in your grade. Talk to her, and be nice, but avoid the brother. Be careful around him. He seems like bad news. He wears lots of leather and black, and seems like bad news." Demyx laughed. "Babe, don't you wear leather too?" He gestured towards Xigbar's leather jacket. Xigbar shook his head. "This is different. You've seen him. There's something different, and off about him. Anyways, the girl is named Mandi. Be friends, makeout, whatever." Then, he stole my comb and started brushing his waist-long black hair, always pulled back in a ponytail. "Guys! I'm ready! How do I look! And Demyx, how much longer are you going to TAKE!" Demyx laughed. "One, that's what she said. Two, I don't go that way, sweetheart. Three, you look amazing, you always do, and by the time you twirl around, he'll be all done." Amy was wearing a short, sewn-by-hand, gothic Lolita inspired dress, with green cyber locks and fuzzy legs, her little fashion invention. Demyx spritzed me with hair spray, twisted one last spike into place, and let me go. I tried to squeeze past Xigbar, who was STILL brushing his hair. "Buddy, lose the muscle! I can't see past you! And it's MY MIRROR!" Finally, after me trying to push him, Demyx managed to pull him away with the promise of a kiss. I checked my hair… Demyx did a good job. He always did, and I wouldn't be able to ever completely replicate it. I sighed. Amy came over, looked me up and down and gave me her seal of approval. "Crap! I got gel… On my shirt!" Demyx tried to wipe it all off of his tight white t-shirt, with rainbows and a slogan reading "Now Recruiting". He loved that shirt! "Hey, anyone else notice that if we don't leave soon, we'll miss our breakfast date?" Xigbar motioned to the clock. It was already 6! "Last one in is a rotten egg! And I call shotgun!" Demyx shot down the steps, with us all following to Xigbar's car, to get to the coffee shop down the street from our school.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch 2

On the way down, we listened to CaramellDansen. Demyx, as always, supplied the music. I couldn't complain… He had good taste in music! Demyx had shotgun, like always. Xigbar was up front, of course. He drove us everywhere. Amy and I were in the back, but we had to pick up Luxord. As we pulled up to his house, we saw him cheerfully walking out of his house, his mom yelling at him to "Do better this year! Or else!" He just smiled and flipped her the bird. "Yo, Luxord! When are you going to realize that's not a good idea?" I shouted out the open window. He just laughed, got in the back, and said, "LET'S BLOW THIS JOINT!" Xigbar's response? Flooring the car! Needless to say, we got to the coffee shop in record time. Just like always, Saix was waiting outside. We all tramped out of the car, and walked up to him. "Buddy, new glasses?" Xigbar noticed Saix's thick plastic frames, rather then his old wire ones. "I'm sick of them breaking" He replied, pushing them back up his nose when they slipped. Honestly, I don't know how Saix and Luxord can hang out anymore. Luxord used to make fun of Saix all the time. Well, so did everyone. But Luxord was the worst. He used to snap Saix's glasses in half, especially in elementary school. I guess if it wasn't for me and Saix becoming friends, he would still be bullied by Luxord. "Are the others in there? I haven't seen anyone for weeks! I was grounded!" Luxord interrupted my thoughts. "Yeah, I guess. I didn't want to sit with all girls…" "AWESOME! 12 PEOPLE!" Demyx ran in, excited to see everyone. We all followed him, if only a little less enthusiastically. I saw Kenzi, Evie, Rika, Bekka, and Steph all drinking coffee and eating. We all ordered drinks (I got a Chai Tea Latte) and sat down with them. We all started talking about school, comparing schedules and whatnot. My schedule was almost all honors and AP classes, so I wasn't with anyone for most of my classes except for Saix. We all had the same lunch though, which was a definite plus. We were all laughing when two people walked in that I didn't recognize. The girl looked pretty nice, with her cut-off jean Bermuda shorts and Pokémon shirt. Her hair was really a pretty brown, and she had glasses and a pretty face with almost no makeup. The boy though, he seemed scary. His black pants were covered with chains. He wore a tight black t-shirt that said "KORN", whatever that was. His hoodie was big and black, which said "Slipknot". Once again, no idea what it meant. He had cigarettes hanging out of his pocket, even though he was clearly a school kid. His messenger bag was covered in spikes and patches, and he wore dirty, ripped up vans. His hair… It was bright, fiery red. And up in what looked like liberty spikes, but falling back from weight. I couldn't stop staring… He seemed dangerous. He turned and looked around, and I gasped. His eyes were bright emerald green, and gorgeous. They were heavily lined with black eyeliner, and he had two black triangles on his cheeks under his eyes. "Roxas, remember that guy and girl I told you about? That's them." Xigbar whispered under his breath. I could see what he meant about the guy being scary, and bad news. But I couldn't get his eyes out of my head. They were breath taking! I couldn't finish my drink, but eventually everyone else finished. We all walked up to the school together, with everyone talking and laughing, except me. And Kenzi was the only one who noticed. "Look, you were the first one to be nice to Saix. So since he's my brother, I wanna do something for you. But I don't know what. I can't help you without you telling me, so what's wrong?" I just shook my head, but she kept pestering me. "Fine… I keep thinking about that scary guy that walked into the coffee shop this morning." Kenzi looked at me like I was crazy. Apparently, she didn't see him. Oh well. By then we had gotten to the school. We all ran in, leaving Xigbar and Demyx alone to make out before they were parted for a day. "I can't remember a day they weren't together this summer…" Demyx's sister, Rika, said. Demyx came in a minute later, blushing, but smiling like a crazy person. "See you guys at lunch!!!" He ran to homeroom, leaving the rest of us to do the same. Since Saix and I had the same first period AP English, we had homeroom together too. We went into the same class we had last year, where our teacher never told us his last name. He insisted we call him by his first name, Xemnas, in order to be our friend. He was actually pretty cool for a teacher, but could be really strict. Good thing he liked our class. "Wonder what we'll read this year!" Saix was really excited for school. I shrugged, still distracted by the wonder I saw earlier. Just then, our teacher walked in. "Hey all, shut up and sit your asses down in your seats." Saix and I shared a private laugh as everyone new to his class looked shocked at his language. "For all of you who've never had me, I'm Xemnas. I don't want you calling me by my last name, so first name basis for all of us. I'll learn from you, you learn from me, we have a giant learning circle and by god you will pay attention and follow rules or you WILL be in the office." He grinned. "But honestly, let's have fu…" Xemnas' words were interrupted by someone slamming the door open, making everyone jump, and I couldn't help but gasp. The guy that walked in was the same one in the coffee shop! "And who, may I ask, are you?" Xemnas glared at the interrupter. "New kid. Axel's my name. Got it memorized?" He spoke with a truly sarcastic tone, and slunk to the only empty seat… To the right of my. Saix, on my left, leaned over and whispered, "Gosh, he's scary… Good luck…" I nodded, silent, afraid my voice would give me away. Even though I knew I shouldn't, I wanted to talk to Axel. I didn't pay attention all through the rest of class. Granted, all Xemnas was doing was explaining class rules, but normally… I'd pay attention! The rest of the day flew by, with most classes being hard to pay attention to. Saix and Axel sat on either side of me all day, making it impossible to concentrate. Finally, it was the end of the day. I met up with Demyx and Amy; we were going to go shopping with Xigbar. His black jaguar flew into the parking lot, and we ran to him, excited to go. We had to stop when a piece of paper on fire flew past us and his Xig's car! We turned around to see Axel, with a lighter and a notebook out. Xigbar got out of his car, enraged. He loved it as much as Demyx. When he saw who had hit his car, his eyes widened, and Axel smirked. "Guys, get in the car…" We got in, while Xigbar slowly backed to it and got in. As soon as he had the key in the ignition, he floored it!


	3. Chapter 3

Ch 3

"Man, slow DOWN!!! You can't get another ticket…" Demyx put his hand on Xigbar's shoulder, as if he was trying to physically restrain the hot headed college boy from flying along the road. Amy and I didn't speak, and shared confused glances. "Sorry…" Xigbar slowed down. "I just… Don't like that guy." Demyx didn't press the issue. I wish he would have, I wanted to know what was up with Axel! "Oh, yeah, we might run into Bekka. Her and Aidan are planning to hang out at the mall." Amy seemed pretty eager to change the subject. "Ha… They've been going out for a while now…" Demyx seemed just fine with the subject being changed. Was I the only one who cared? I tuned out the rest of their conversation, until we got to the mall. I looked out my window to see Bekka sitting on a bench, holding hands with Aidan. They both had black hair, although Aidan put blonde lowlights in his hair. He had green eyes, and was definitely athletic. Xigbar parked the car, and Amy ran ahead to the couple. The rest of us eventually caught up with her. Aidan and Xigbar were really close friends, even if none of us knew why. They had been friends before Aidan and Bekka went out, and Xigbar was really protective of his little sister. "Bro, you can leave us alone now!" I hadn't even realized that they had been joking around together! What was it with me today? I couldn't focus on anything! Was it because of Axel? Speaking of Axel, Aidan's eyes were the exact same shade of green… I shook my head, and hurried after Xigbar as he walked away laughing, his arm around Demyx's waist. For the next hour, Amy dragged Demyx and me around, forcing us to buy everything she thought we would look good in. Xigbar followed us good naturedly, but it was obvious that he wanted Demyx to himself. "Hey, Amy, let's leave the lovers alone for now, kay?" I wanted to talk to her anyways. "Fine… Demyx buy that shirt and I will murder you!" Demyx dropped the blue shirt he had picked up and slowly backed away, and then ran off with Xigbar. "Hey, Amy…" She looked at me weird, I guess she knew something was wrong. "Roxas, you've been confused and acting odd all day. Kenzi said you saw some guy in the coffee shop, and Saix said you didn't talk to him in study hall, or lunch, and you kept glancing over at some guy. From the way he described his looks, it sounds like the guy who threw that paper at us to…" I cut her off, and pointed to the store across the way. "That guy?" She looked and saw Axel in InTelliPunk, the only store in the mall I never went in. "Yeah… What's up? Roxas? ROXAS!" I heard her shouting my name, but I kept walking anyway. I didn't know why, but I had to go see what his problem was! He looked up almost as soon as I got to him, I didn't have to say a word. "Roxas, right?" I nodded. "What's your deal?" I didn't get what he meant by that, so I asked him. "What? What's my deal?" "Yeah, you keep looking at me all day, hang out with the only two faggots I've seen so far…" "Hey! Don't call them that!" I clenched my fists. So what if he was taller and stronger? He insulted my friends! He looked at me, and said, "Hey, hey, calm down, I didn't mean anything by it… Walk with me. Just for a little bit." I pulled out my phone and texted Amy, saying, "hey walking round w/ the red head for a little bit. catch up with u all later" She wouldn't be happy, but I wanted to know more about Axel. I started to follow him around the store, seeing more and more shirts and hoodies like the one he had been wearing earlier. "So, what does slipknot and korn mean?" He looked at me like I was crazy. "Son, they are gods of music. They write, and it gives you hope, misery, anything they want you to feel." I gave up on trying to understand, and instead asked where he came from and why he had come to our school. "Well, my dad got a job transfer and this is the closest we could get. Without being in the city, of course." He paused to grab a girl's Pokémon shirt. "For my sister…" He explained. "Anyways, my dad wanted us to go here. I don't know why, but he did. Hey, I need a cigarette. Come with?" I agreed, eager to learn more. I followed him outside, where he leaned against a wall and lit up a cigarette. "Oh, wow, are my manners shot! Want one?" He casually offered me one, but I shook my head. "No thanks, I… Don't smoke." I looked at his eyes, which seemed to reflect all his emotions. Right now, he looked like he seemed to understand something, then he ducked his head and put the cigarette to his lips. "So, Roxas. Tell me why you're so interested in me." I shrugged. "I don't know. You just seem interesting, and I kept thinking all day about you" The way the words came so easily to my lips, and slipped past my tongue seemed strange. I leaned up against the wall next to him, and he turned to me. "You too, huh?" Without thinking, I knew where this was headed. He bent down, and I tilted my head up. Our lips touched, and all I knew was that this seemed right.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch 4

I pulled back instinctively. Me and Axel? Axel and me… Kissing? It didn't make sense but… It felt so right!

"Roxas…" Axel sighed, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, I didn't…" I shook my head to shush him, unsure of what I was doing; much less sure that it was right.

"Axel… It's okay. I want this." I tried to speak with conviction as he ran his head through my hair (What gentle fingers!) I tilted my head up, inviting him in for at least on more kiss before I chickened out. He hesitated for a moment before dropping the still-burning cigarette to the ground, putting it out under his boot. His hand gently traced my cheekbone (Again, how gentle he was…) as he bent down, tentatively touching his lips to mine. We kissed, for the second time. As Axel became surer that I wouldn't pull away this time, I felt more power in his kisses, they were more passionate. He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me towards him. Moaning, I put my arms around his neck. I lost track of how long we stood there in each others embrace, kissing, talking… It was incredible!

"ROXAS!" Someone grabbed my arm roughly, pulling me away from Axel. I turned around, furious. In front of me was a giant muscular chest, barely covered by the black shirt, which was stretched to the max to keep from ripping. I looked up to see flaming yellow eyes… Xigbar. He pulled me away, shouting obscenities at Axel, telling him to stay away from me. I was in a daze… I could still taste Axel's cheap Camel cigarette in my mouth. When I looked over my shoulder, Axel was leaned up against the wall, with another one already lit up. When he saw me looking he waved to me… As I was being dragged away, Demyx turned the corner.

"Baby? What's wrong?" Demyx looked frightened. Did that mean I should be too?

"You know how sometimes you gotta stay out of stuff? Please get a ride home. I gotta take the kid home" He hefted me into the air, and threw me over the shoulder, clearly angry. When I tried to speak, he just ignored me. He walked across the parking lot, leaving Demyx behind him, with his mouth dropped open. When he got to his car, he unceremoniously dumped me into the passenger seat, and buckled me in. I crossed my arms and didn't even bother talking until he got in the drivers seat.

"What the FUCK is your problem!" I shouted as soon as he started driving. "You're the one ALWAYS telling me to kiss someone! To find someone!" I watched his jaw clenching and unclenching. "Why did you pull me away!"

"You… Were kissing… Axel…" Xigbar barely managed to spit the words out at me. "You… Kissed him!"

"Really!? THIS IS BECAUSE I KISSED A GUY? You're a fucking hypocrite…" I couldn't believe him, he was mad because I kissed a guy? "So now being gay is wrong?"

"I DON'T CARE WHO YOU KISS… As long as it isn't him." Xigbar gritted his teeth. I wasn't making him any less mad. Well he ruined the best thing that ever happened to me so he could deal with me being mad at him.

"So now you're jealous? Jealous that a guy like him would pick me over a blatant FAGGOT like you?" I practically shouted that. All I could think was, uh oh…. I am SOOOO dead. Xigbar slammed on his brakes, making me jolt forwards.

"I'll forget you said that because if I pummel you Demyx will be mad. But get the FUCK out of my car. Walk home for all I care." I sat, stunned. Shaking, I opened the door and stepped out to the side of the road.

"It's going to take hours to get home!" I complained. Xigbar shrugged, and drove off, his tires squealing. I waited until I realized that he wasn't coming back. Then, I just started crying. What was I going to do? I began walking down the road. I might as well, there wasn't much other choice. I began kicking rocks to amuse myself, but then I found a pack of Camel cigarettes with a lighter stuck in the plastic around the pack. I picked it up, wondering how to light one. I had never smoked before, and I wasn't about to start, but even just smelling the pack made me realize how much Axel had smelled and tasted like one. I tried lighting it by holding it up to the lit lighter, but it wouldn't light. How had he lit them? I knew he had put it in his mouth… Shuddering, I placed it between my lips, holding the lit lighter to it. When it didn't work, I breathed in and sighed. All of a sudden the cigarette flared! "Oh, you breathe it in!" I laughed at how simple it was. At this point I needed a break and sat down. "I wonder what you taste like, little cancer stick." I felt weird talking to a cigarette, but no one was around. So, I took a small inhale… And immediately coughed. "Well, that's not right…" Little by little, I was able to handle the cigarette. After a while, I could smoke fairly comfortably. Then, I heard a motor… A motorcycle motor! I looked up, and the rider slowed down and I looked at his ridiculous red hair, wondering how it stayed up in the wind.

"Hey lover" Axel said with a wink. "Thought you didn't smoke?"


	5. Chapter 5

Ch 5

"Yeah, I don't." I shrugged. "I found this pack on the side of the road… It's harder then it looks." Axel laughed.

"Need a ride home? I have a helmet…" Axel reached his hand out to me. I looked uncertainly at the motorcycle… It looked unsteady. "You worried about this? Don't worry, I'm a great biker. I promise I'll get you home alright… Just hold on and don't let go." Shakily, I got up and clambered up behind him.

"Got that helmet?" Axel laughed at me as he put it on my head.

"Damn prep boy. So when did you know you were gay?" Axel had to shout to be heard over the roar of his motor as he started up the cycle. I stiffened suddenly. Was I gay? Yes, kissing Axel was amazing and felt so natural, but then again it was the only kiss I'd ever had…

"I… Don't know. I still don't know if I am…" I trailed off, unsure of how to say it. I didn't want to hurt Axel's feelings.

"Maybe… You could sleep over? We could hang out and you could figure it out? It is Friday after all…" This time Axel trailed off. My heart leapt into my throat. Could he seriously like me? Or at least want me to sleep over? Was this how things went?

"I… Would love to. Just let me tell my mom I'm sleeping over Amy's. She won't complain too much." My voice shook, I never lied to my mom.

"Great! Guess I'll just take you to my house then!" Axel sounded really excited. Maybe he did like me! I lay my head down on his back (the wind was stinging my eyes). Breathing in, I could smell Camels again… Along with the scent of hair spray and gel. Idly I thought about how long it would take to put it up…

Before I knew it, Axel was shaking me awake. "Wake up, dude! You passed out on the way here… Call your mom!" I shook myself awake, blushing when I thought of my dreams.

"Ummm yeah…" I pulled my phone out of my pocket, and called my mom. As usual, I got her voice mail. "Ummm mom, hey. It's me Roxas. I'm sleeping over Amy's. I guess you're not in the house? You have to remember your phone! Haha, anyways, see you tomorrow…" I hung up. "She wasn't there…" Axel shrugged.

"Well let's get you inside!" Axel led me inside, but before I walked through the door I looked up at Xigbar's window, and I thought I saw the swish of a curtain closing. Then, as I walked through the door, I was struck with a memory…


	6. Chapter 6

Ch 6

I was only 7 years old. My twin brother Sora was chasing me through the halls, blue when we had lived here. My parents were out, so our 18 year old sister Kairi was watching us, but she wouldn't join in with our "childish games". Sora and I loved to pretend we were in a world where nothing was what it seemed, where if you were bad you had to limbo, where time wasn't real… We titled our world Nonsense, and everyone talked Gibberish.

We weren't rich, but I suppose we were well off. We had a baby grand piano in our entryway, where we had our base when we went shadow-hunting. We had so many games, but our favorite was the one where we screamed and when Kairi came running, we pretended nothing had happened. We were playing the game a lot that day, and Kairi stopped falling for it.

"Come on little brother!" Sora was only a few minutes older, but loved to lord it over me.

"I'm not that little!" I tackled him. "Wanna scream again?" Sora nodded, and we both started screaming like we were being murdered.

"Sora! Roxas! I'm not falling for this again!" Kairi shouted up. Disappointed, we stopped after a couple of minutes.

"Hide and seek?" Sora suggested. "You hide, I seek." I quickly agreed. I was smaller, and could hide easier. "1… 2… 3…" As Sora began to count, I quickly slipped away and hid in a small closet. There were little slats I could look through, so if he came near I could hide in the coats. I was the best hider ever! "Ready or not, here I come!" Sora began to search the halls for me, the house quiet except for Kairi's TV blasting in her room with some rap song. That was when it all went wrong.

The door was forced open by a huge man kicking it open. Sora came running to the entryway to see what was happening. "No, you idiot…" I thought to myself. The man saw him, and leveled the gun to my brother's head. I wanted to stop him, but I was shaking. Sora started screaming, and our dog Namine came running. She was an albino German Shepherd, and was the biggest dog I'd ever seen. She launched herself at him, trying to protect Sora. The man swung his gun up, and shot the barking dog. She dropped to the floor, jerking and twisting. Tears filled my eyes as I watched her die a slow death, gasping for air. (I later learned that the bullet had punctured her lungs) My sister's TV was suddenly shut off. Sora had stopped screaming when the man shot Namine, and at this he started up again. Kairi must have known that something was wrong.

"Roxas!? Sora!? What's happening?" She came running down the stairs and stopped as she saw the man pointing the gun at Sora.

"You, girlie. Get over here. Tell your brother to shut the FUCK up…" Kairi walked over to him and hugged Sora.

"Sora, be brave. It will be okay." Kairi's voice was shaking… The man laughed.

"Too bad. You lied to him." The man continued laughing as he put the gun between my brother's eyes and pulled the trigger. Kairi was splattered with his blood, and her eyes widened in fear.

"Wha… What do you want?" She kept glancing around, trying to find where I was.

"Who are you looking for? This Roxas?" Kairi shook her head, repeating over and over that there was no one else, and the dog had been Roxas. She protected me until the end. The man looted our house after he shot her. When he left, I came out of the closet, tears streaming down my face. I sat next to my brother and sister, and held their hands, praying that they were alive. Hours later, my parents came home to find that I fell asleep in a pool of my sibling's blood, and I was rushed to a hospital. They asked me to describe the man. I couldn't remember anything at the time. I was in shock, pure and simple.

"Roxas, are you okay?" Axel waved his hand in front of my face, laughing. "You zoned out there for a little bit!" I nodded, biting my tongue, not wanting to tell Axel why there was a stain on the floor of their house in the entryway, or why the door jamb was busted where the lock was forced through the wood. Some things are always better left unsaid.


	7. Chapter 7

Ch 7

"AXEL!" A tall, brown haired girl launched herself at Axel. I felt my self grow strangely jealous… I couldn't stop the jealousy. Axel pried her off, laughing and handed her the Pokémon shirt he found at InTellipunk.

"Roxas, meet my sister, Mandi. She's in your grade. Mandi, meet Roxas." Axel introduced us politely. "Roxas is sleeping over." At this, Mandi instantly started to tease her brother. "Yeah, Mandi. We are going to do each other's hair and paint our nails. Sorry, you're not invited." She pretended to look hurt at her brother's comment, and ran back up the stairs clutching her shirt.

"Thanks bro! Roxas, don't let him rape you!" She shouted down the steps, giggling. Axel blushed, and started down the steps to the basement where our family had had our rec room. However, it seemed like Axel had managed to completely convert it.

The walls were all red, except for one. It was black with sloppy designs painted on it in white. The ceiling was plain white, but covered in posters. Axel had a giant king sized bed with black and red sheets. Everything was perfectly color coordinated. Connected was a fair sized restroom, with eyeliner and hair gel/hair spray in it. I walked around, marveling at his room. When I turned around to find Axel I found him leaning into a drawer, pulling out sweatpants. After a moment, he turned and threw a pair at me.

"Unless you want to sleep in your clothes, you can wear those. They're an older pair so they should fit you. Now, to answer your earlier question… Who is Slipknot?" He picked up a remote, hitting a button that made music come pumping out of speakers hidden throughout his room. I looked up into his blazing emerald eyes, knowing what would come eventually. But first, he asked if I wanted a cigarette. Of course, I refused. "Sorry, thought you might have changed your mind since I picked you up on the side of the road like a whore!" I would have been angry, but I heard him laugh after I turned away. I shrugged. I guess it's not too bad, I reasoned. I did already smoke one. So I accepted one, and let him help me light it.

We sat in his bed for a long time, smoking and talking. I learned about his life, his abusive dad who had never cared, who had left when he was young, but not young enough to forget the terror. He was thankful that Mandi had avoided it, because she wasn't old enough to remember. He didn't open up to people, and tried to act like a toughass so he wouldn't let anyone in and disappoint him. Axel had seen something special in me, and trusted me. I told Axel, in turn, that I had a twin brother who had died, along with an older sister. Axel didn't push me to talk about it. He seemed to understand the subject was taboo. I learned why he smoked – He had an older brother, who had been killed in a car crash. His brother had always smoked, always Camels… He had been let down horribly by the last boy he trusted. After he said this, he turned toward me, and leaned in for a kiss. Of course, I let him. I couldn't help it. There was just something different about Axel.

"Maybe Axel… I am gay…" I managed to mutter in between kisses. "In fact, I'm sure I am." Axel pulled back, and looked at me inquisitively. "I… Never thought…" Boy, this was harder to say then I thought. "That I… Would like boys? I NEVER considered it…" Axel laughed, and kissing me on the forehead, stood up.

"Roxas, you never asked, but I feel like you need to know something. Xigbar and I knew each other before, and he was the one who let me down… We used to live in Traverse Town together… And his parents walked in on us… They aren't very gay friendly!" He shook his head grimly. "His parents kicked him out, and he left town. He hates me because I never defended him, and I don't like him because he left me." I tried to comprehend. Then did that mean he liked me because I knew Xigbar? "I'm glad he left though. I found you." All of a sudden, he briskly walked over to me, kissing me passionately. "Roxas, this is an incredible feeling I never thought I'd have…


End file.
